Xinyu Zhao graduated from Peking University with a B.S. degree in biology and then earned her Ph.D. degree in pharmacology from the University of Washington. She received postdoctoral training on neural stem cells from Fred Gage at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Zhao is currently a Jenni and Kyle Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and an investigator at the Waisman Center. She uses both animal models and human pluripotent stem cell models to study gene regulatory mechanisms underlying mammalian brain development with the goal of developing novel treatment strategies for neurodevelopmental conditions, including fragile X syndrome, autism and Rett syndrome.